Breathe No More
by Armylife93
Summary: <html><head></head>"The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Damon looking at me from across the clearing, his hand reaching out to me, and his mouth repeating my name over and over." DAMON AND ELENA ONE SHOT!</html>


**DISCLAIMER: ****I do not own the Vampire Diaries, or any of the characters. I simply like to toy with them.**

**A/N: So this is something new for me. Anything I have ever written has usually just been purely romance, but this one is kind of depressing. So I hope you guys like it!**

_**Breathe No More**_

**X-X**

This was it.

This was the big battle that determined everything, and I couldn't help the brick that seemed to be lodged in my stomach. It was complete silence in the SUV as we drove to the clearing where we would have the final showdown with Klaus. I was in the backseat with Damon on my left and Stefan on my right. Alaric was driving and Caroline was in the passenger side seat. In the sedan behind us was Jeremy and Bonnie- like us, they were making the most of their time together.

I squeezed Stefan's hand, trying to fight back the tears that were making their way into my eyes. I couldn't help but feel like one of us weren't going home tonight, and I could only pray that it would be me. I couldn't live if one of my loved ones died for me... I wouldn't allow it. It seemed like no matter how much I squeezed Stefan's hand, the tension wouldn't disappear, and Damon definitely noticed.

The hand that wasn't holding Stefan's was shaking so horribly that if I didn't know any better I would say it had been dipped in ice for hours. All of a sudden, I felt that same hand being encased, and my head shot down to see Damon's hand holding mine in my lap. He was rubbing his thumb over my hand in a calming way, and I couldn't help but feel extremely grateful to him. I looked up into his eyes, and he was just sitting there staring at me- his blue eyes playing tricks even in the dark.

I turned my head sharply away while squeezing his hand tight, and looking at Stefan trying to explain why his brother was holding my hand, but he just shook his head.

"It's okay. I understand." He whispered, and I wondered how in the world I was blessed to have two such amazing men in my life.

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

I don't know what happened.

About 10 minutes after Damon grabbed my hand, the SUV was attacked and it flipped and flipped and all I remember is feeling sick to my stomach, and scared out of my mind. I remember feeling like this when the car accident that killed my parents happened. I remember Damon and Stefan grabbing onto me trying to keep my stationary so I wouldn't hurt my head, and then... that's it.

When I woke up I heard screams. I smelled fire and death. I felt the ground beneath my body- the dirt on my hands and in my fingernails.

I opened my eyes slowly, and took a sharp intake of breath at what I saw.

Damon- my Damon- was being held by his neck by Klaus' whom was standing on his hind legs. He was about 8 feet tall when standing- perhaps an effect of being a hybrid- and Damon's head was between his jaws.

I saw Damon struggling. I saw him trying to pry Klaus' jaws off of him, but Klaus' teeth were already embedded in his neck. Damon had been bitten. Everyone was standing in a circle around Klaus and Damon, all wanting to attack and kill to save Damon but too afraid to actually make a move in case of Damon actually being torn to pieces.

But I wasn't. I had to do SOMETHING.

I stood up from where I was laying on the floor, and sprinted towards Damon and Klaus' not giving a damn whether I lived or died. If this was the defining moment then I would gladly give up my life to save Damon's. Maybe if I saved him they would be able to find a way to stop the werewolf bite from killing him.

As soon as I was next to the couple, I heard multiple screams around me: "ELENA, NO!"

I stepped up next to Klaus and just stared at him.

"Please," I said with an extreme tremble in my voice, I knew I was begging. "just let him go. Please, Klaus. PLEASE. I will willingly go with you. I will willingly do whatever you want, but please just let Damon go."

The wolf head turned to look at me, and I saw his eyes curve upward- the bastard was smiling.

And then he thrashed his head, and Damon was flying to the right- across the field- his head barely attached to his body.

"DAMON!" I screamed and before I could dash over to him I was hit on the head by someone that was behind me. The last thing I saw before I blacked out was Damon looking at me from across the clearing, his hand reaching out to me, and his mouth repeating my name over and over.

Elena...

Elena.

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

I was in a dark place. Literally and figuratively.

I had been stuck here for so long with HIM.

Klaus.

The ritual had been completed, and yet somehow I had stayed alive. Klaus had had a plan.

_"My dear, Elena. You will live if only for my pleasure. Drink, Elena. Live." He whispered shoving his wrist into my mouth forcing me to drink his blood._

_He had slit my wrists above the alter which held the moonstone- my blood dripping onto it in large amounts. It seemed to me- through the blinding pain- that I was the only one besides Klaus who would survive this ordeal. Katherine was the vampire sacrifice, Jules was the werewolf, and Greta was the witch. _

_After the ritual was complete, Katherine turned gray, Jules shriveled up and stopped breathing, and Greta turned to ash. I collapsed and that's when he appeared to give me his blood. I drank greedily and then I remember nothing._

Next thing I knew I was waking up in the soft bed that Klaus had let me have while I was his prisoner. For being the more evil vampire in the world, he actually seemed to treat me well, besides the whole he wanted to sacrifice me thing. He fed me daily- nice steaks that were cooked rare, and my favorite red Gatorade. I barely ever complained.

Still, my heart was gone. I felt so... empty. Every day the scene from the clearing went through my head, and every night I cried over Damon.

He was dead. He was dead, because of me. I could only hope that everyone else was okay- that they weren't looking for me, because if they were they would be seeking certain death.

My only hope was that one day I could escape and find my way back to Mystic Falls. That maybe, after Klaus had gotten tired of me, I would be able to run away and live a happy life. I felt changed, and I had no idea why. There was just this blank in my memory, and sometimes I would get these horrible pains in my jaw, but every time I was about to put my finger on what it was from- I would just forget. I hated it.

"Elena, are you in here? Oh who am I kidding, of course you are. You have no choice but to be."

I grimaced as Klaus walked into my room, a cocky smirk apparent on his face. He walked up to me and stroked my cheek with his hand, looking deeply into my eyes.

"I'm going out tonight. You will not leave this house. Understand?"

"Yes, I understand." I said absently, before snapping out of my trance and then cringing when he kissed me on the forehead.

"Good, Elena. I'll see you later." He sped out of the room, and after I was sure he was gone, I gave the biggest grin I could possibly muster up.

This was it. This was the day I escaped.

I didn't have anything that was mine so I had nothing to pack. I gathered up all the courage I had and stepped out of my room. Don't ask me how Klaus' compulsion didn't work on me in that moment- I really didn't care. All I knew was I felt like there was a protective bubble surrounding me, protecting me from all harm, and as I ran out the door and into the night- I missed the pair of eyes that followed me from the house- the eyes of Klaus' warlock.

In the wind I heard, "Good luck, Elena."

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

**STEFAN'S POV**

It had been so long and it seemed like every day it was getting harder and harder to live, to function. I lost her... I lost both of them. Elena was just taken too quickly, I didn't even get a chance to try and protect her before she was gone- by now I knew she was dead, along with Katherine. Klaus would not wait to break the curse, and I knew that was what he was using both of them for- for his own sick, twisted revenge.

It hurt so much.

I had tried to move on- I really had, but along with the death of my brother I just couldn't. Ha! If Damon thought I was brooding before, I couldn't imagine what he thought I was doing now. He would probably say something like, "Stefan, you're adding more wrinkles to that Grand Canyon you call a forehead."

Just thinking about him hurt. I knew he was bad in the beginning, but somehow over time he had changed. He had become a much better person than even myself. While I had skeletons in my closet, he had them out for everyone to see- even if that's not exactly what he wanted.

And I missed him.

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

**? POV**

"Where am I...?" I cringed sitting up from where I was laying in... Blackness? As I became aware of my surroundings- or lack thereof- I bolted up ignoring any pain I previously felt.

"Hello, there. How are you feeling?"

"Who are you!" I yelled into the darkness wondering where the hell I was and why I was here.

"Oh come on, if I told you that then the fun would be over!" The voice was deep, and masculine but held an undertone of mischief.

"Well, then at least tell me what the hell is going on." I talked normally now, realizing that no matter what volume I spoke at he would probably still hear me.

"I'm being... generous. I've gotten what I want- now I feel- err- guilty? Sure, let's go with that."

My head shot around frantically at that, "What do you mean you're being generous?"

"What is it that you wish for- more than anything in the world?"

Immediately an image of my bright eyed angel ran through my mind, and before I could even speak her name, I heard the voice chuckle.

"But of course, because everyone wants her these days. Well fine, but be warned young one that when you get her she may not be what you expect."

"What do you mean, what are you-"

Before I could finish there was a blinding white light, that I could only describe as nothingness. And then it was gone, and I wasn't in blackness anymore. I was in front of the Boarding House, looking at the front door. Before I knew what I was doing I was knocking, and it was opening.

And there stood Stefan Salvatore.

Time to reminisce? I think so.

"Hello, brother."

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

**ELENAS POV**

I ran and ran and ran for a whole week- stopping only in the wee hours of night to rest. I didn't know how I knew where to run, but there was just this feeling. Every night the fear took me- the fear that I would wake up back in Klaus' room. The fear that Klaus would find me. The fear that I wouldn't make it to where I was going. I didn't get tired as easily as I thought I would and I was getting increasingly hungry as the days went on but no matter what food I ate I would still be hungry.

And just like before as soon as I got the answer on the tip of my tongue it would disappear. Needless to say I was getting increasingly aggravated.

Finally on the 8th day I arrived in Mystic Falls, and as soon as I saw the Boarding House a huge sigh escaped my mouth and I almost collapsed right there from relief.

I ran one last time up to the door and without knocking- barged in.

"Stefan!"

I looked around the parlor- nothing. Kitchen? Nothing. Bedroom? Nothing. So I did the one thing my body was screaming for me not to do- I went into Damon's bedroom.

I stepped through the door, and looked around- feeling tears come into my eyes. The last time I was in here was after the decades dance when he told me he would always choose me, and now... he was gone.

I felt my chest heave with the pain- tears springing to my eyes almost instantly. I couldn't believe it.

I crumpled to the floor and started sobbing loudly- not caring if Stefan walked in on this scene- if this was the first time he saw me again after so long.

And then I was slammed against the wall- being held by my neck and through my tears all I saw was bright blue eyes and black hair. I saw beauty. Sadly, I couldn't express how that beauty made me feel or what I wanted to say, because I couldn't breathe much less talk!

"Katherine what the hell are you doing here?" He spit into my face, and I sputtered. He thought I was Katherine.

"Let... me... go." I gasped out, and my eyes widened when he got closer to my face looking me in the eyes trying to find out if I would betray him.

He released me and I slumped to the ground grasping my neck, trying to catch air that I realized was coming a lot easier than I thought.

"Damon?" I whispered, looking up at him tears still swimming in my eyes. "D-Damon?" My voice cracked and the tears finally fell in large amounts.

"Uhm yeah?" He said, crossing his arms across his chest.

I got up as fast as I could- which was pretty damn fast- and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him as tight as I could and crying into his shoulder.

"You're alive! I thought you were dead! Damon," I whispered, clutching tighter, "Damon."

"Get off of me, Katherine. Even though I could say the same about you- we all thought you had been sacrificed along with..."

I pulled back and grabbed his cheeks making him look at me. "Damon, Katherine was sacrificed."

I stared into his eyes and tried to make him understand. Please, Damon- please understand.

His eyes widened before he scanned my entire face, "E-Elena!"

More tears spilled as I nodded and smiled from ear to ear, "Damon!" I hugged him again and this time he actually hugged back, putting his nose in my hair and squeezing me tight.

"But Elena..."

"Damon, how are you alive?"

"Elena, I don't-"

"I mean seriously, I-I saw you lying there. You had lost too much blood, and your head was just about detached- you couldn't heal."

"Elena- what happened to you?"

"And why did you think I was Katherine!" I screeched, and that's when he rolled his eyes and I saw one twitch.

"Damnit, Elena answer me- what happened?"

"Well... Klaus did the ritual with me, Katherine, Jules, and Greta... and they're all dead... but he gave me his blood and I healed I guess, and after that I woke up and I was okay and Klaus was trying to keep me captive and that was it." I said, becoming more and more frustrated with my lack of memory.

My face probably showed my emotions because he grabbed my chin and turned it towards him before he said what changed everything, "Elena... why don't you have a heartbeat?"

My whole body stopped functioning, "W-What are you talking about? Of course I have a heartbeat."

"Elena, I'm holding onto your body and I feel nothing. You look like you, you talk like you, but you have no heartbeat. You smell mostly the same, but there is a little bit of a difference."

"No. No! I'm the same, Damon! I'm the same! I am the same exact person I was four months ago."

I couldn't comprehend what was going on. My head hurt like it never had before, and my chest was the tightest it had ever been. I couldn't find myself to cry anymore, because it seemed like that's all I was doing lately. I was trying to remember something... something...

Something.

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

**DAMONS POV**

I was watching her crumble in front of me and felt absolutely powerless to do anything for her. And then it hit me.

"Elena, I'll be right back stay here." I said not even knowing if she could hear me through her pain.

I sped down to the basement, got a blood bag, and flashed back up to her- tearing it open on the way. When I entered the room and she was in the fetal position on the floor holding her head and muttering my name over and over, "Damon... Damon... Damon!"

"I'm here, Elena- I'm here." I knelt down in front of her, and put the open tear to her lips- causing her to sputter slightly before watching her eyes widen, and then... the veins appeared.

She started chugging down the blood- causing a downright mess across her face and chest. When the last drops of blood were gone she licked the bag for more.

After the frenzy was over we both sat there staring at each other and she started shaking her head.

"No... No... No!" She launched herself forward onto me and clung to me desperately.

"It's going to be okay. I promise." I stroked her hair and carried her to my bed where she finally passed out from exhaustion.

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

**STEFANS POV**

It's been a week since Damon reappeared on the door step saying only that someone who sounded very alike to Klaus had told him that he was getting a second chance.

I was taking what I could get- everything else to hell.

Now, I knew that I had to take advantage of what life had to offer, and I couldn't be held back anymore by the past. I had to live in the moment.

I walked up to the Boarding House after spending the day with Jenna, Alaric, Bonnie, Jeremy, and Caroline. We all tried to stick together, and the only reason Damon wasn't with us was because he had a feeling he had to stay home today.

I walked in the door and sped up to his room, but before I could knock he had already opened it and walked outside so we were outside his room.

"Stefan, we need to talk."

"What's up? Why are you pushing me out of your room?" I asked and he just shook his head- clearly exasperated.

"I'm just going to say it... Elena is back."

"What!" I gasped and tried desperately to get around him to get into the room, but he just held me back saying my name.

"Stefan, stop. You need to know something."

"Well what is it? I need to see her!"

"Stefan... she's a vampire."

**~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~**

**ELENAS POV**

It was a little hard and awkward after that. The hardest part wasn't getting used to me being a vampire, it was getting used to my feelings for Damon that had gotten stronger over the time I was away. The feelings for Stefan were more familial now, and after Stefan woke me up- rudely I might add- I explained everything to him.

I just couldn't be with him anymore, and I could practically hear Damon smirk outside the door.

After that, everyone suddenly arrived in the parlor and I explained my newfound memories to them.

Klaus used me as the sacrifice and fed me his blood to heal me, but he snapped my neck and decided to kill me instead. When I woke up from being dead, he had a human ready for me and I drank- that part I wish I could forget. Then he compelled me to forget it all, and I did. The bloody steak was to get me weaned on animal blood like Stefan, and the red Gatorade was a glass of animal blood. My jaw hurting was my fangs coming out, and the reason the compulsion didn't work the last time was because Klaus' warlock had specific orders to set me free from Klaus.

It explained everything. It explained how I could run for days and how no matter how much I ate during that week I was never full. And I found out that Klaus had his warlock charm my necklace so that I could walk in the sun. He made me believe I was still human, set me free, and somehow revived Damon.

I could honestly say I was somewhat grateful to Klaus for that.

And I prayed that I wasn't developing some kind of Stockholm Syndrome.

And now, I just laid in bed with Damon. Looking up at him as he slept peacefully- my head on his chest and my arm wrapped around his waist.

Suddenly his eyes were open and he smiled, "I love you."

Tears formed, again, and I whispered back, "I love you too."

I sat up and kissed him softly on the mouth which he instantly deepened and before I knew it we were naked and making love.

I could handle being a vampire. I could handle that any day Klaus might change his mind and come for me. But I couldn't handle not being with Damon.

And if this moment was all I had I would take it.

Forever.

**A/N: That was... long? Ha-ha, I was trying to avoid a lot of romance and insert more like supernatural WTF stuff, ha-ha. Reviews are awesome! 3**


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